Pictures from here, there & everywhere

Pope Francis arriving here in Manila is without a doubt one of the biggest things to happen in the Philippines this year. Millions of people went out to greet him when he arrived last night, and seeing as the Catholic media people didn’t even reply to any of my emails (unlike the Vatican press office, who seemed more on the ball but referred me to the local guys unless I want a seat on the papal plane), I had to settle for joining the crowd and waiting for his motorcade to pass.

Thousands of police officers and over a million devotees lined the streets to catch a glimpse of Pope Francis, and that’s what you’ll see in the below video: a glimpse of the Pope. Racing by in his motorcade. He’s still here for a few days, so hopefully I will get some pictures as well.

It’s been ages since I last used the website. Not because I didn’t do anything worth posting, but because most stuff these days goes straight to the Facebook Page . It’s often more convenient and faster to post images there, but it means the website looked like a virtual desert for a while.

Now I’ve finally decided it’s time to reactivate this pace and use it more again, probably for a mix of pictures and blog type writing entries.

Let’s start with a bang, or a few thousand, actually. New Year’s Eve 2014 has just passed and like last year, I used the viewpoint from this place to capture the war-zone like atmosphere that is Metro Manila at New Year’s Eve. The place goes absolutely mental at midnight and it’s one of the most unique and breathtaking views you can ever see. The video, which I primarily shot for an article on WhenInManila, proved a little bit more popular than expected and has accumulated around 1.5 million views at the time of writing. That’s the first time I managed to get that many views on a YouTube video and made for quite a nice start to the year: So let’s see what else the years brings

For any fans of drifting, Lateral Drift Productions is definitely worth a closer look. The Pro-Am Championship promises exciting and hard fought drift action at various venues around the Metro and further afield.

Round 4 took place last week and below are a few pictures from the day. I have to point out that this was my first time trying to capture a drift event and I’ve definitely picked up a few ideas and pointers there, which will come in handy next time.

Like classic Japanese cars? Maybe got one yourself? Then head down to Makati for the monthly Sushi Factory Meet & Run, a great event that seems to be growing bigger every month.

Check out the cars while you enjoy a free coffee and the company of some great people who all have a healthy dose of petrol in their blood. Come midnight, the whole convoy gets moving for a run on the skyway. A great monthly event that’s definitely worth checking out!

As you might know, Miss World 2013 is from the Philippines and goes by the name of Megan Young. After winning the contest, she returned to the country and the good people here put on a small victory parade for her.

Nothing big. They just closed the main road through Makati while thousands of people lined the streets and celebrated her win. Below are a few snaps from that occasion.

Normally, I wasn’t really planning on having a pet again but when I saw this little furball sitting by the side of the road here, that plan changed.

So, meet Muning the Street Kitten, who has now moved away from the street and into a more comfortable lifestyle. As she can’t pay rent, she has to pose for pictures instead and a selection of work from her modeling career can be found in the gallery below.

The Isle of Man TT 2013 has arrived and in front of us lie two weeks of world class road racing. Like every year, I’ll be out and about over the fortnight, trying to capture and share much of the action.

This year, I’ve made the decision to “go light”, meaning no DSLR in use at all, but instead reliance on mobile devices and apps.

Like the last couple of years, you’re best off following me on Twitter and Facebook for from-the-scene coverage, as that’s where all updates will appear first. I will update this site as well but that will be done more infrequently.

I’ll be using things like Instagram and Vine a lot. You can either follow me directly on there or look out for the updates that are automatically fed through to Facebook and Twitter. While this approach will undoubtedly mean a reduction in image quality, I do somehow think that the added speed, as well as the fact that most people will ever only glance at the images from their phone while they follow the race, is simply more suited to the event. Maybe I’ll pick up a DSLR again next year and go for more moody morning pictures, maybe I won’t. We’ll see… This year, it’s all about on-the-spot stuff, so follow me and let’s enjoy TT, moment by moment, day by day!

Here is a sight you don’t see every day: A Formula One car driving along the streets of Manila. Recently, the Lotus F1 Team and driver Marlon Stockinger stopped by here for some demonstration runs around the Mall of Asia complex.

They drew quite a crowd and completed a good number of laps with the single and the two seater car. Who knows, maybe there will be a Manila GP in the future?

This lovely 1962 Mercedes 180D recently had an appearance in a music video and also happened to park in front of my lens on the day.

Even in a city where traffic is completely mad and driving is more a game of survival rather that simple travel, this vintage beauty made people smile and earned us thumps up from other drivers all over the place.

As to the music video where it played a supporting role, that was for Your Imaginary Friends‘ latest single and video which is embedded below.